Orthodontic neckband



Aug 5, 1969 w. R. MAYNE ETAL 3,458,935

Aug. 5, 1969 w. R. MAYE ETAL 3,458,935

ORTHODONTIC NECKBAND Filed Sept. 11, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v I i/ v INVENTORS.

"WEA/E75.

United States Patent O 3,458,935 ORTHODONTIC NECKBAND Warren R. Mayne, Middleton, Mass., and Frank W. .lohnson, Monrovia, Calif., assignors to Unitek, Corporation, Monrovia, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Sept. 11, 1967, Ser. No. 666,579 Int. Cl. A61c 7/00 U.S. Cl. 32-14 6 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE An orthodontic neckband which is pre-contoured to fit smoothly against a patients neck without wrinkling or curling. The neckband is formed from several strips of material which are stitched together to impart a desired curvature. An outer cover strip or panel is formed from a decorative fabric to enhance the appearance of the neckband. An elastic strap passes through a pocket in the neckband, and includes a plurality of sockets to anchor a pair of hooks adapted for attachment to an extra-oral orthodontic appliance.

Background of the invention Extra-oral appliances are used frequently in orthodontic treatment, and are particularly useful to reposition protrusive teeth or to move groups of teeth in the upper or lower dental arches. Such appliances have interior portions coupled to the teeth, and exterior portions extending through the mouth for coupling to a neckband or headgear which has an elastic member to exert a traction or posterior force on the appliance and teeth. Orthodontic face bows are a typical example of an eXtra-oral appliance, and the neckband of this invention will be described with reference to its use with face bows.

Existing neckbands for extra-oral appliances are formed simply as an elastic strap, or may include a cushioning pad engaged with the elastic strap and bearing against the back of the patients neck. A pad is generally preferred as it distributes the elastic-strap force over a larger area than if the strap alone is used, and is easier and more comfortable for the patient to wear. Known pads are manufactured in fiat form, and are of unitary construction or may include one or more layers of fabric which surround a resilient body of spongy cushioning material. When the elastic strap is coupled to the face bow, the pad is forced out of its normal liat form to tit around the back of the neck.

Such known neckbands and pads have not proved to be entirely satisfactory for several reasons. First, a conventional flat pad tends to form vertical creases and ridges across its Width when it is pulled into a curved shape by the force of the elastic strap. The pad wears or frays rapidly at these creased areas, and has a short useful life. More importantly, the ridges or wrinkled surfaces of the pad tend to abrade the skin on the neck, causing a rash or otherwise making the skin sore and tender. The rash s often aggravated by perspiration which collects between the ridges and retards healing of the tender skin.

Another problem associated with the at pad is curvature of the upper and lower pad edges away from the neck. That is, the pad surface facing the neck tends to become convex when the pad is curved out of its normal iiat shape by the force of the elastic strap. The result of this curvature, coupled with the lateral wrinkling tendency just described, is that only a portion of the pad surface is in contact with the neck. The full force of the elastic strap is thus distributed over .a reduced area, leading to accelerated fraying of the pad and uncomfortable pad pressure on the neck.

3,458,935 Patented Aug. 5, 1969 ICC Summary of the invention The neckband of this invention is pre-contoured in a curvature approximating that of the neck, and the problems just described are thereby avoided. The neckband includes a pad formed from a set of elongated strips, and an elastic strap fitted through the pad. The strips are stitched together while in arcuate form, and the stitching holds the resulting pad in a curved shape which does not wrinkle or crease when positioned on the neck. The elastic strap is molded from gum rubber to provide a relatively linearly increasing restoring force as it is elongated, and includes a plurality of longitudinally spaced sockets in which attachment hooks are anchored. The orthodontist installs the hooks in a selected set of sockets to provide a desired amount of force when the neckband is installed on the patient, and clips olf any excess length on the strap ends.

The neckband is comfortable for the patient to wear, and it is therefore easier for the orthodonist to obtain patient cooperation. Most orthodontic patients are children, and it is often ditiicult to maintain treatment progress because a child is reluctant to Wear an unattractive and uncomfortable or even painful neckband. Our neckband is comfortable to wear, has a long life, and is `attractive as it includes a decorative outer strip of fabric which may be provided in a variety of colors and patterns. Extra-oral appliances are sometimes worn 24 hours per day during certain treatment phases, and we have found that patients accept our neckband much more readily as it is colorful and contrasts attractively with their clothing.

Briefly stated, the neckband assembly of this invention is useful with an extra-oral orthodontic appliance having a pair of attachment points, .and comprises a pre-curved pad and an elastic strap engaged with the pad and adapted to be coupled to the appliance attachment points. The pad is formed from an outer cover strip of a decorative iiexible material, an inner liner strip of a soft, smooth material, and first and second substantially inelastic stiffening strips positioned between the inner and outer liner strips. The stiffening strips are relatively stiif .and shape-retaining as compared to the cover strips. A fastening means such as stitching secures together the four strips -while they are positioned against each other and curved lengthwise, forming a pre-contoured pad which holds its curvature and tits smoothly without wrinkling against a patients neck.

Preferably, the pad defines a pocket extending lengthwise therethrough between the stitfening strips, and the elastic strap is positioned in the pocket. The stiifening strips are formed from a material which permits the strap to be elongated within the pocket without binding. Preferably, the elastic strap has a plurality of laterally extending, longitudinally spaced sockets adjacent the strap ends, and the strap further includes a pair of hooks engageable in the sockets at opposite ends of the strap. The inner liner strip is preferably a material having a smooth, soft inner face forming a concave face of the pad to be fitted against the neck. The back or convex face of the inner liner strip is a soft, resilient cushioning material fitting against the innermost stiifening strip.

Brief description of the drawings The invention will be described in detail With reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a neckband typifying known units in the prior art;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of a neckband formed according to the invention and installed on a patient;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a concave face of a neckband subassembly including a stitfening strip and a decorative outer cover strip;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a convex face of another neckband Subassembly including a stiffening strip and an inner liner strip;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an inner concave face of a neckband pad assembled from the Subassemblies shown in FIGS. 3 and 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view on line 6-6 of FIG. 5, with an elastic strap installed in the neck-band pad;

FIG. 7 is .an elevation of an elastic strap;

FIG. 8 is a top view of the elastic strap;

FIG. 9 is a view of a hook useful with the elastic strap; and

FIG. 10 is a view of a threading hook for installing the elastic strap through the neckband pad.

Description of the preferred embodiments A neckband 10 according to the prior art is shown in FIG. 1, and includes .a pad 11 and an adjustable-length elastic strap 12. This band is shown in a curved form such as it assumes when drawn around the neck of a patient, but the pads of such neckbands have in the past been manufactured in at form. When such a flat pad is curved to fit the contour of a neck, the inner concave surface of the pad forms lateral wrinkles 13.

These wrinkles occur because the inner face of the pad has a shorter radius of curvature than the outer face of the pad when the pad is curved around the neck. The material forming the inner face necessarily buckles or wrinkles as it is secured to the material forming the outer face of the pad. As shown in FIG. 1, pad 11 also becomes laterally convex toward the neck as a result of the at construction and the force of elastic strap 12, causing increased pressure and discomfort on the reduced skin area contacted by the pad.

Elastic strap 12 is doubled over at one end and secured to itself by a buckle 14. This style of construction is considered to be disadvantageous as it permits the patient to adjust the amount of force delivered by the strap to an eXtra-oral appliance. Furthermore, a relatively high stress is present in the single-layer portion of the strap, and wear and fraying soon occur in this portion.

A neckband 18 formed according to the invention is shown in FIG. 2. The neckband is mounted on a patients neck and coupled to a conventional face bow 19. The face bow is of conventional construction, and includes an inner arch (not shown) which is coupled to teeth in the patients mouth, and an outer arch 20 which extends out of the patients mouth and curves rearwardly toward the neck on each side of the face. Each end of the outer arch is bent into a loop or hook 21 to form attachment points for a neckband.

Neckband 18 includes a pre-curved pad 23 which is contoured to t smoothly and comfortably against the back of a patients neck as shown in FIG. 2. Pad 23 is shown in detail in FIGS. 3-6, and is assembled from iirst and second subassemblies 24 and 25 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

Subassembly 24 includes an elongated outer cover strip 27 formed from a fabric such as cotton or polyester cotton which is available in a variety of decorative patterns. The outer liner strip may be provided in solid colors, or in a plaid or other attractive pattern which will appeal to youngsters and be more attractive to wear than the plain pads of the prior art. The upper and lower longitudinal edges of strip 27 are folded inwardly toward the longitudinal center line of the strip, and these folds are secured in place by chain stitching 28 along the length of the strip.

Subassembly 24 also includes an elongated rst stilfening strip 29 formed from a sheet of thin metal, plastic, or stiff canvas-like material which is formable and curves flexibly, but which is substantially inelastic with respect to elongating forces. Preferably, strip 29 is cut from a material commonly known as belting which is relatively stil and tends to retain its shape. We have lfound that a belting material as sold under the trademark Lamicel and having a thickness of about 1&4 inch is quite satisfactory for this purpose.

The first stiffening strip is curved, and is centered on outer cover strip 27 as shown in FIG. 3. The ends of the outer cover strip are folded inwardly toward the lateral center line of the cover strip to cover the lateral edges of the stilening strip. Stitching 30 is then formed through the liner strip and stilfening strip to secure these elements together.

Preferably, stiffening strip 29 has a width of about one inch, and is pre-formed in a semicircular curvature having a radius of about one and three-fourths inch. The outer cover strip preferably overlaps the stiffening strip, and has an unfolded width of about one and threeeighths inches.

Subassembly 25I (see FIGS. 4 and 6) includes an inner liner strip 33 which is preferably formed from a smooth material 34 such as nylon which is backed by a foam material 35 laminated thereto. A suitable nylon-foam laminate material is available under the trademark Treko nylon as manufactured by California Combing Corporation. The nylon face of the inner liner strip ts against the neck and is smooth and comfortable against the skin. The layer of foam material on the inner liner strip provides cushioning and resilience to distribute the force of the neckband across a large area of skin on the neck.

As shown in FIG. 4, the longitudinal edges of the inner liner strip are folded inwardly toward the longitudinal center line of the strip such that the foam portions of the folded parts and the main body of the strip are in faceto-face contact. The folded portions are secured in place by chain stitching 36 along the length of both longitudinal edges of the strip.

A second stiifening strip 38, formed of belting material just as described above with reference to first stiffening strip 29, is positioned against the foam face of strip 33 as shown in FIG. 4. The ends of strip 33 are folded inwardly toward the lateral center line of the strip, and stitching 39 is formed laterally across these folded portions to secure together the inner liner strip and the second stiffening strip. Both the rst and second stiffening strips are arcuately formed, and are flexible but sufliciently stiff to retain this curvature.

Subassemblies 24 and 25 are aligned in pre-curved, faceto-face relationship, and are then secured together (as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6) by a Afastening means such as stitching 41 along the opposite longitudinal edges of the assembled strips. The subassemblies are positioned such that the two stiffening strips face each other, with the nylon surface of the inner liner strip forming a concave inner face of the pad, and the outer cover strip forming a convex outer face of the pad. The subassemblies are not stitched together along their lateral edges, and an open-ended pocket 42 is thus formed through the pad between the two stiffening strips.

Sewing the various elements of the pad together while they are in a curved shaped results in a built-in curvature which does not produce wrinkling or puckering of any of the pad surfaces. This is because the inner elements of the pad are shorter than the outer elements in any given section of the pad, this feature arising from the sewing together of the elements while they are curved. A conventional at laminated pad, on the other hand, will wrinkle on its inner concave face when bent around the neck, because the inner lamination is compressed and the outer lamination is stretched when the pad is bent. The inner lamination wrinkles in response to the compressive force, giving rise to the various problems of discomfort, short life, and unattractive appearance described above.

An elastic strap 45 is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, and is preferably molded from pure gum rubber to provide a relatively linear restoring force as it is elongated. Gurn rubber is superior in this respect to other materials which may produce excessive restoring forces when elongated beyond a normal range. A plurality of longitudinally spaced-apart enlarged portions 46 are formed on an outer face of the strap along each of the strap ends. A socket or hole 47 extends laterally through each of the enlarged portions.

Referring to FIG. 9, a wire hook S has its ends formed as a pair of spaced-apart arms 51, and the arms are joined by a bight portion 52. Arms S1 are inserted in one of holes 47 in the strap, and the arms are then compressed toward each other to secure the hook to the strap as shown in FIGS. 2 and 7. Bight portion 52 of the hook is engageable with hook 21 on the face bow.

Strap 45 is threaded through pocket 42 in pad 23, and a threading hook 55 as shown in FIG. 10 is useful during this operation. Hook 5S is formed somewhat like hook 50, but the bight portion and one of the arms are straightened to form a leg 56 which can be inserted in hole 47 at one end of strap 45.` A threading leader or bodkin (not shown) such as a length of stiff Wire or plastic is pushed through pocket 42 in the pad and hooked to threading hook 55 which is in turn engaged with the elastic strap. The threading leader is then withdrawn through the pocket, pulling the elastic strap with it through the pad. The threading hook is also useful for temporary installation in the strap when, for example, the restoring force of the strap is being measured.

In use, the orthodontist positions a face bow in the patients mouth as shown in FIG. 2, and then positions neckband 18 against the back of the patients neck. Elastic strap 45 is then elongated, and a conventional force gage (not shown) is used to determine an elongation which provides a desired restoring force. A pair of hooks 50 are then inserted in a selected pair of holes 47 at opposite ends of the strap, the holes being selected to provide the desired elongation of the strap when it is secured to face bow hooks 21. Any excess length on the elastic strap may then be snipped off to give the strap a neat appearance, and to prevent the patient from reducing the amount of force provided by the strap by relocating the hooks.

Elastic strap 45 is preferably formed to have a relaxed length of about nine to ten inches. It is convenient to provide straps having several diiferent force ranges so the orthodontist can choose straps capable of providing either light or heavy orthodontic corrective forces. For example, a light-force strap will typically have a restoring force of about four ounces when stretched to an elongation of about one inch over its relaxed length. A heavy force strap will provide a restoring force of about eight ounces when elongated about one inch.

Pad 23 as described above can be formed with only a single stiiening strip, but the double stitening strip construction shown in the drawings is preferred because any tendency for the elastic strap to bind within the pad is eliminated. The belting material used to form the stiffening strips has a smooth, slick surface, and (as shown in FIG. 6) the elastic strap is threaded between the stiiening strips. When the strap is elongated in use, it slides smoothly on the surfaces of the stiffening strips without any tendency to bind or stick. This feature is especially important when the neckband is worn by a restless sleeping child who may push the neckband out of its normal position on the neck. `Overload forces are avoided because the strap slides freely and accommodates itself to the new position of the pad.

There has been described a pre-contoured neckband which is curved to lit smoothly against a patients neck without Wrinkling or creasing. Stiiening strips in the neckband retain the pre-formed curvature, and the elimination of any tendency to wrinkle or crease provides a strap having long life and which is comfortable for the patient to wear. A continuous decorative outer panel on the strip enhances the acceptability of the neckband to the patient,

and improves the probability of patient cooperation in using the neckband.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with an extra-oral orthodontic appliance having a pair of attachment points, a pre-contoured neckband assembly, comprising:

an elongated, exible inner liner strip;

a substantially inelastic irst stili'ening strip having a shape substantially coextensive with the liner strip and being curved and relatively stili and shape retaining as compared to the liner strip;

fastening means for securing together the strips while they are positioned together and bent lengthwise in a curvature approximating that of a human neck to yform a pre-curved pad which holds its curvature and has a concave face adapted to tit smoothly against the neck without wrinkling; and

an elastic strap engaged with the pad and adapted to be coupled at its ends to the appliance attachment points.

2. The neckband assembly delined in claim 1 and further comprising an outer cover strip secured on an outer, convex face of the pre-curved pad, the cover strip being formed from a decorative fabric, the stiffening strip being disposed between the cover strip and the liner strip.

3. The neckband assembly defined in claim 2, and further comprising a second curved stiiening strip substantially coextensive with and positioned arcuately against the rst stiil'ening strip.

4. A pre-contoured neckband assembly for use with an extra-oral orthodontic appliance having a pair of attachment points, the assembly comprising:

an outer cover strip formed from a decorated, llexible material;

an inner liner strip formed from a smooth, soft material;

rst and second curved stifening strips positioned between the liner strips and formed from a material which is relatively stiff and shape retaining as compared to the liner strips, the four strips being elongated and substantially coextensive;

fastening means for securing together the four strips while they are positioned together and curved lengthwise to Iform a pre-curved pad which holds its curvature and is adapted to fit smoothly without Wrinkling against a human neck, the outer cover strip defining an outer convex face of the pad, and the inner liner strip forming an inner concave face of the pad, the pad defining a pocket extending lengthwise therethrough between the stilening strips; and

an elastic strap disposed in and extending through the pocket and adapted to be coupled to the appliance attachment points, the stifening strips being formed from a material which permits the strap to be elongated within the pocket without binding.

S'. The neckband assembly dened in claim 4 in which the elastic strap has a plurality of laterally extending, longitudinally spaced sockets adjacent the strap ends, the strap further including a pair of hooks engageable in the sockets at opposite ends of the straps.

6. The neckband assembly deined in claim 5 in which the inner liner strip is formed from a material having a smooth, soft inner face forming the concave face of the pad, and being backed by a soft and resilient cushioning material in contact with one of the stiffening strips.

p References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS ROBERT PESHOCK, Primary Examiner 

